FORMER ETHIOPIAN P.M. CALLS ON SOUTH SUDAN’S PRESIDENT KIIR TO QUIT, GIVE OTHERS A CHANCE

ADDIS ABABA, Former Ethiopian prime minister Hailermarian Desalegn has called on South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, who is struggling to hold power, to quit politics and give others a chance, according to media reports here.

Hailermarian unexpectedly announced he was resigning on Feb 15, saying he hoped to end years of unrest and political turmoil in Ethiopia, after ruling the country for six years.

The former premier, who also was the chair of the Horn of Africa bloc, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which is mediating the South Sudan peace process made his remarks at The Ibrahim Governance Weekend organized by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation held in Kigali, Rwanda, at the weekend.

Speaking about the need for peace in South Sudan, he regretted the non-implementation of the IGAD-brokered peace agreement by the South Sudanese leaders.

“Immediately after my resignation, I asked them, ‘Please, would you resign because you failed to resolve the problem in South Sudan?’,” he said.

“Leaders have to come to their senses, to their mind, and they should somehow leave so they give power to new young leadership that can continue to the next step.”

Hailemariam stressed, however, that all parties had to help to end the war in South Sudan, including the African Union and the United Nations, adding: “The UN should take aggressive action.”

Speaking about Ethiopia, he said he resigned because his country had a problem of addressing its multi-ethnic society, and there is a need for deep reform. So I said, I have to set aside myself in order to achieve these deep reforms. The main problem in African politics is that people hang on to power. And I wanted to show that it is possible that you can leave while having power as a citizen in my country,” he stressed.

South Sudan’s embattled President Salva Kiir Mayardit has been signalled by many to leave power but he says he has no incentive to bring peace and resign.